


In The Middle of the Night

by flipflop_diva



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Cats, Fluff, Gen, Remix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-06 21:21:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20513669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flipflop_diva/pseuds/flipflop_diva
Summary: Captain Fluffy — as the rest of the Avengers like to call Steve’s black fluff ball of a cat that he saved off the streets one cold, snowy night — starts disappearing about two weeks after Steve brings him home.





	In The Middle of the Night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [telm_393](https://archiveofourown.org/users/telm_393/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Captain Fluffy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/461115) by [telm_393](https://archiveofourown.org/users/telm_393/pseuds/telm_393). 

Captain Fluffy — as the rest of the Avengers like to call Steve’s black fluff ball of a cat that he saved off the streets one cold, snowy night — starts disappearing about two weeks after Steve brings him home.

This doesn’t really concern Steve. He’s done a lot of research since Fluffy moved in with him, and he’s learned that cats are very independent and very curious, and there are a lot of floors with a lot of stuff that make for great hiding spots or claw sharpeners or just hours upon hours of entertainment. And Fluffy always turns back up, usually not more than an hour or two after Steve has noticed him missing.

But as the weeks stretch into months, Fluffy’s disappearances seem to get longer and longer, and it makes Steve wonder where exactly his cat is going. Sometimes when Fluffy gets home, curling himself around Steve’s head as he sleeps, Steve notices he smells of something warm and almost vanilla. It’s a scent that seems familiar, but he can’t really place it. Other times, he notices a crumb or two on Fluffy’s head or notices that his fur looks shinier or softer than it had been the last time they were together.

Steve still doesn’t worry. The other Avengers adore the cat, but they always make sure it comes home to Steve, and they always tell him when they’re with the cat.

Clint, in particular, likes to take Fluffy up into the rafters. He claims the adventures they both have up there are beyond compare. Thor likes to order presents for the kitty, usually things that are not at all fit for a cat, like donuts or plants or glass vases, but Steve always thanks him and assures him Fluffy loves in. Tony and Bruce like to let Fluffy visit their lab. Tony wants to make Fluffy his own little Iron Kitty suit but Steve puts an end to that. Or at least he hopes he does. He’s secretly afraid Bruce and Tony are downstairs somewhere constructing one as he and Fluffy sleep at night.

But then one night, the Avengers — all of them exhausted and drained, emotionally, mentally, physically — traipse back into Avengers Tower after a mission gone horribly wrong, and Fluffy disappears for the entire night. Steve knows Fluffy was there when they got back. He had been waiting for them all in the kitchen, staring at his empty food bowl and meowing.

But somewhere between the time that Steve feeds Fluffy and all the Avengers go their separate ways, the cat disappears. Steve heads to his room and to his bed and waits, but the little cat never shows.

It bothers him more than it should. The comfort of the little cat on top of his head, the sound of someone beside him breathing deeply and contentedly, is more of a safety net than he knew. Fluffy gives him peace, a sense of belonging, and without Fluffy by his side, those things are lost too.

Steve ends up not sleeping at all. He explores the Tower top to bottom before the sun comes up, calling for Fluffy, asking JARVIS for help, but the little cat is no where to be found. He starts to wonder if maybe the cat ran away or is hurt, and he feels himself start to panic. But then an hour later, the cat shows up to breakfast, smelling again of warm vanilla, and Steve cuddles him against his face, ignoring the smirk that Tony is sending him.

The cat disappears even more after that. Some nights he sleeps by Steve’s head and others he is gone. Steve feels betrayed, which is a stupid thing to feel because Fluffy is a cat and doesn’t understand human emotions, but Steve can’t help it. He counts on this little guy, and nights when he isn’t next to him are so much harder to sleep.

Which is why Steve finds himself awake at four in the morning on a night Fluffy has yet to come home, once again searching the Tower from top to bottom. He is on the verge of giving up when he decides to head into the gym. If he can’t find his cat, he might as well punch out some of his frustration.

His hand is on the light switch, but it’s the tiny meow from the side of the room that has him freezing. He isn’t sure why he doesn’t switch on the light then, but instead he creeps across the gym toward the sound.

The light in the room is almost non-existent, just a very soft edge from the light shining in from the hallway, but it’s enough.

Steve stands in the gym, staring down at the oddest sight he’s ever seen. Natasha, still wearing her uniform even though Steve thinks she returned from her solo missions hours and hours earlier, is curled up on the floor, almost in the fetal position. And in her arms, his little head against her chest, purring contentedly is Fluffy.

“Purring is calming,” Natasha had told him once, when he caught her reading with the cat in her lap, the only time he had seen her with the little guy.

It makes sense now. The reason Fluffy comes back smelling like a familiar scent. Why he couldn’t find him when he searched every possible place in the Tower he had access to.

He smiles down at Natasha and his cat and creeps out of the room. He doesn’t have the heart to wake her up or to let her know he knows her secret.

He goes to the animal shelter the next day, though, and talks to the volunteers there. He comes home with a soft gray kitten with wide green eyes that remind him of Natasha’s. The kitten is a little thin and a little small, but she’s perfect.

He gets JARVIS to let him leave the little kitten in a little kitty crate on Natasha’s bed before sneaking out.

She doesn’t say anything about the kitten, doesn’t ask anyone where it came from. But three days later, as Steve feeds Fluffy a piece of chicken, Natasha walks up to him, presses her ears close to his ear, and whispers, “I’ve named her Liho.”

She walks away.

Steve smiles, and keeps feeding Fluffy.


End file.
